Arrested Teacher Resigned From Last Job After Investigation

Saturday

Apr 19, 2014 at 11:12 PM

A Lakeland teacher accused of having sex with a student resigned from a teaching job in Orange County because of "inappropriate text messages" to a student and then "falsified her application" when she sought a Polk County job.

By BEN BRASCHTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | A Lakeland teacher accused of having sex with a student resigned from a teaching job in Orange County because of "inappropriate text messages" to a student and then "falsified her application" when she sought a Polk County job, Polk School Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy said in an email to School Board members.Jennifer Fichter, 29, a teacher at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, was charged last week with 10 counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor involving a 17-year-old student.Polk school officials have been confronted with questions about how Fichter obtained her Polk County job after she resigned from her Orange County teaching position in fall 2008. The Orange County School District on Friday released its employee file on Fichter, and it said she had been investigated on accusations that she sent inappropriate text messages to an eighth-grader while she was a teacher at Robinswood Middle School in Orlando, according to news reports.According to the Orange County School District documents, Fichter told another teacher that she loved the boy and felt like they were in a relationship, Bay News 9 reported.LeRoy wrote in her email to Polk County School Board members that Orange County schools didn't report the investigation to the Florida Department of Education.LeRoy sent her email just after 5 p.m. Friday. It said:"It came to light today that the suspect worked for Orange Co Public Schools during 2007-08. Resigned because of inappropriate text messages to a grade 8 student. She falsified her application to us. Also, Orange never reported anything to the FLDOE so she was never flagged."LeRoy could not be reached for comment Saturday.School Board member Hunt Berryman said that LeRoy might address the situation publicly Monday.Last week, LeRoy recommended that the School Board fire Fichter, which the board could do at its meeting on Tuesday.Fichter was hired as an English teacher at Kathleen High School in Lakeland in August 2011 and was paid $40,530 per year. The Central Florida Aerospace Academy is a career academy of Kathleen High that holds classes at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.Fichter, who lives in Davenport, is accused of having a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old since November at locations in Polk and Hillsborough counties, according to a report from the Lakeland Police Department. The boy's mother discovered the relationship and told police, the report states.She is facing seven criminal charges in Polk County and three in Hillsborough County. On Wednesday, during her first court appearance, her bail was set at $70,000 on the Polk charges.

[ Ben Brasch can be reached at ben.brasch@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]